Powell in new push for Mideast peace

US Secretary of State Colin Powell made a new push toward Mideast peace today, promising Palestinians full support for their elections to replace Yasser Arafat and receiving Israeli assurances of a smooth path to the ballot box.

In one of his last overseas trips as the top US diplomat, Powell sat down with both Israeli and Palestinian leaders on their home turf, seeking to capitalise on new realities created by Arafat’s death.

“I have come to bring a message of peace and commitment from President Bush that he wants to move forward on the path of peace, to take advantage of the new opportunities that are before us,” Powell said during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Much of the discussions with both Israeli and Palestinian leaders focused on the January 9 elections for Palestinian Authority president.

Though they mourn their leader’s death, many Palestinians feel a sense of excitement and possibility at the end of Arafat’s one-man rule, anticipating the balloting that could help give them the first real democracy in the Arab world.

Nevertheless, extremists on both sides threaten the new optimism, and it’s far from clear whether Palestinian and Israeli leaders will have enough confidence and credibility to make the painful concessions required for any peace deal.

Israeli leaders assured Powell that they will do their utmost to allow the January vote to take place, including easing travel restrictions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Powell said the Israelis expressed a willingness to allow Palestinian residents of east Jerusalem to take part in the vote – a contentious issue because Israel fears doing so could undermine its claims to all of the city.

Powell said both sides agreed that the model used in the last Palestinian elections in 1996 – allowing east Jerusalem residents to vote with absentee ballots – could be used again.

In a sign of an improving atmosphere after four years of bloody violence, Israeli officials also said they are willing to renew talks with the Palestinians on some issues, including security, and to co-ordinate the aftermath of Israel’s planned withdrawal from Gaza and part of the West Bank in 2005.

Israel and the United States had refused to talk to Arafat, branding him an unacceptable negotiating partner because of what they said was his support of terror. Arafat died on November 11 at a Paris hospital of a still unknown illness.

Powell held talks with interim PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas, Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia and interim Palestinian Authority president Rauhi Fattouh, among others.

Powell said both Israel and the Palestinians must return to the road map peace plan, which calls for a Palestinian state after requiring Palestinians to dismantle terror groups and Israel to freeze settlement building in the West Bank and Gaza.

Before Arafat’s death, the plan was all but dead because of each side’s failure to implement the initial requirements.

When a group of voters in Jericho pressed Powell for a timetable for the creation of a Palestinian state, Powell told them: “It won’t be determined by picking a date, but by progress and action on the ground”.

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said it is in Israel’s interest to see the Palestinian elections go forward, saying they could pave the way for a new leadership “with whom we can sit down”.

“I have reassured the secretary today that Israel will do everything in its power to ensure their smooth running,” he said, adding that Palestinians would have “freedom of movement”.

Shalom did not say whether Israel would pull back troops. Palestinian officials asked Powell to ensure that Israel do so, though it was not immediately clear how he responded.

Shalom said Israel would co-ordinate the election with the Palestinians but would not compromise on security.

A senior Israeli official said the two sides were already in contact, and that a co-ordination meeting could be scheduled after the registration of candidates ends next week.

Another official said Shalom also told Powell that Israel is willing to resume talks with the Palestinians on other issues, including security.